A Manual of Occultism

By Sepharial

Part I The Occult Sciences

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1 ASTROLOGY

CHAPTER I THE ALPHABET

CHAPTER II THE ASPECTS

CHAPTER III THE SIGNS

CHAPTER IV THE HOUSES

SECTION 2

CHAPTER I MAKING A HOROSCOPE

CHAPTER II FOREIGN HOROSCOPES

SECTION 3 READING THE HOROSCOPE

CHAPTER I PERSONAL APPEARANCE

CHAPTER II THE CONSTITUTION

CHAPTER III HEALTH

CHAPTER IV THE CHARACTER

CHAPTER V ACCIDENTS

CHAPTER VI THE FORTUNES

CHAPTER VII THE POSITION

CHAPTER VIII THE OCCUPATION

CHAPTER IX MARRIAGE

CHAPTER X PROGENY

CHAPTER XI TRAVELLING

CHAPTER XII FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

CHAPTER XIII THE KIND OF DEATH

SECTION 4 THE MEASURE OF TIME

CHAPTER I ON DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER II EXAMPLE OF DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER III SECONDARY DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER IV TRANSITS AND ECLIPSES

CHAPTER V MUNDANE ASTROLOGY

CHAPTER VI OTHER METHODS

SECTION 5 PALMISTRY

CHAPTER I TYPES OF HANDS

CHAPTER II THE MOUNTS OR CUSHIONS

CHAPTER III THE PHALANGES, ETC.

CHAPTER IV THE LINES

CHAPTER VCHAPTER VI INCIDENTAL MARKS

SECTION 6 THE THAUMATURGIC ART

CHAPTER I THE KABALA

CHAPTER II THE CALCULATORY ART

CHAPTER III OF EVIL SPIRITS

CHAPTER IV MAN'S SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

CHAPTER V ON TALISMANS

CHAPTER VI NUMEROLOGY

CHAPTER VII HYPNOTISM AND MESMERISM

Part II The Occult Arts

CHAPTER I DIVINATION

CHAPTER II THE TAROT

CHAPTER III CARTOMANCY

CHAPTER IV VARIOUS METHODS

1. THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

2. THE STAR

3. THE TABLET

CHAPTER V CRYSTAL-GAZING

THE PRINCIPAL LINES

CHAPTER VI PRELIMINARIES AND PRACTICE

CHAPTER VII VISIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS

CHAPTER VIII SOME EXPERIENCES

CHAPTER IX GEOMANCY

Probable Chinese Origin.

THE SYMBOLS

CHAPTER X CASTING THE FIGURE

JUDGING THE FIGURE

CHAPTER XI SYMBOLS IN THE TWELVE HOUSES

CHAPTER XII PSYCHOMETRY

DOWSING

CHAPTER XIII DREAMS

CHAPTER XIV SORTILEGES

ALCHEMY

• Language: English
• Publisher: Youcanprint
• Release date: Apr 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9788892658615

Book preview

Table of Contents

Part I The Occult Sciences

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1 ASTROLOGY

CHAPTER I THE ALPHABET

CHAPTER II THE ASPECTS

CHAPTER III THE SIGNS

CHAPTER IV THE HOUSES

SECTION II

CHAPTER I MAKING A HOROSCOPE

CHAPTER II FOREIGN HOROSCOPES

SECTION III READING THE HOROSCOPE

CHAPTER I PERSONAL APPEARANCE

CHAPTER II THE CONSTITUTION

CHAPTER III HEALTH

CHAPTER IV THE CHARACTER

CHAPTER V ACCIDENTS

CHAPTER VI THE FORTUNES

CHAPTER VII THE POSITION

CHAPTER VIII THE OCCUPATION

CHAPTER IX MARRIAGE

CHAPTER X PROGENY

CHAPTER XI TRAVELLING

CHAPTER XII FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

CHAPTER XIII THE KIND OF DEATH

SECTION IV THE MEASURE OF TIME

CHAPTER I ON DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER II EXAMPLE OF DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER III SECONDARY DIRECTIONS

CHAPTER IV TRANSITS AND ECLIPSES

CHAPTER V MUNDANE ASTROLOGY

CHAPTER VI OTHER METHODS

SECTION V PALMISTRY

CHAPTER I TYPES OF HANDS

CHAPTER II THE MOUNTS OR CUSHIONS

CHAPTER III THE PHALANGES, ETC.

CHAPTER IV THE LINES

CHAPTER V THE PRINCIPAL LINES

CHAPTER VI INCIDENTAL MARKS

SECTION VI THE THAUMATURGIC ART

CHAPTER I THE KABALA

CHAPTER II THE CALCULATORY ART

CHAPTER III OF EVIL SPIRITS

CHAPTER IV MAN’S SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

CHAPTER V ON TALISMANS

CHAPTER VI NUMEROLOGY

CHAPTER VII HYPNOTISM AND MESMERISM

Part II The Occult Arts

CHAPTER I DIVINATION

CHAPTER II THE TAROT

CHAPTER III CARTOMANCY

CHAPTER IV VARIOUS METHODS

1. THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

2. THE STAR

3. THE TABLET

CHAPTER V CRYSTAL-GAZING

CHAPTER VI PRELIMINARIES AND PRACTICE

CHAPTER VII VISIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS

CHAPTER VIII SOME EXPERIENCES

CHAPTER IX GEOMANCY

Probable Chinese Origin.

THE SYMBOLS

CHAPTER X CASTING THE FIGURE

JUDGING THE FIGURE

CHAPTER XI SYMBOLS IN THE TWELVE HOUSES

CHAPTER XII PSYCHOMETRY

DOWSING

CHAPTER XIII DREAMS

CHAPTER XIV SORTILEGES

ALCHEMY

A Manual of Occultism

by

Sepharial

© David De Angelis 2017 [all rights reserved]

Part I

The Occult Sciences

The Volitional Faculty - The Will and Imagination - Adeptship - Astrology - Kabalism - Talismans - Numerology - Palmistry - Hypnotism, Etc., Etc.

"Sorcery has been called Magic: but Magic is Wisdom, and there is no wisdom in Sorcery" PARACELSUS.

INTRODUCTION

IT is not my intention in these pages to attempt an exposition of the deeper arcana in connection with the various subjects treated of; but rather to place before the lay reader a number of methods by means of which he will be able to demonstrate to his own satisfaction, and that of others, that there is a deep substratum of truth in what is usually called Occultism, and that the occult arts are sure and definite means of exploring them.

The ancient Hermetic philosophers were well aware of a certain subtile correspondence or analogy existing between the superior and inferior worlds, the world of causation and that of effects. They traced a connection between the noumenal and the phenomenal, between the mind of man and his bodily condition, between the spiritual and the natural. They affirmed all this in a trite axiom: As above, so below. This philosophy extended to concrete observations, and became a science which they embodied in the Doctrine of Correspondences. The hieroglyphic writings of the Chinese, Egyptians and Assyrians are the outcome of this science, portions of which are current in our own thought and language. Thus when we speak of commerce, the merchant and the market, we are going back to traditional knowledge which associated the winged messenger of the gods with the ship in full sail; the word merx the hieroglyph for all that the name imports. We call the Sun he and the Moon she, tracing unconsciously a subtile correspondence between the day and the active male function in nature, and between the night and the passive female function. We speak of jovial men and infer their connection with the planet Jupiter; and all our destructive and hurtful ideas are embodied in such words as to mar, martial, murder, etc., linking them to their source in the root marna (to strike), because the destructive element in nature is represented in our system by the planet Mars.

This Doctrine of Correspondences is at the root of all occult interpretation. It is our human presentation of the Universal Law which binds the Microcosm to the Macrocosm as an effect to its antecedent cause. The mystic, the poet and the creative artist are all unconscious interpreters of this universal law. They have in some degree the universal sense by which their souls are rendered responsive to the pulsations of Nature’s own heartbeat. The sybil, the diviner and the seer are in even closer touch with the Great Life, while they have less conscious enjoyment of that intimacy. Others there are who reach to the heart of things by a clear and conscious intellection, understanding what they see, analyzing and interpreting what they feel. These are the Occultists, the true masters of the secret knowledge. Here it is perhaps necessary to mark the distinction which exists between occultism and mediumism, between the voluntary conscious effort of the trained intellect and the automatic functioning of the natural sensitive, in their respective relations to the occult world.

The Occultist is one who intelligently and continuously applies himself to the understanding of the hidden forces in nature and to the laws of the interior world, to the end that he may consciously cooperate with nature and the spiritual intelligences in the production of effects of service to himself and to his fellow-beings. This entails upon him a close study of the mystery and power of sound, number, colour, form; the psychological laws underlying all expression of faculty; the laws of sympathy and antipathy; the law of vibration; of spiritual and natural affinity; the law of periodicity, of cosmic energy, planetary action; occult correspondences, etc. To these labours he must bring a natural gift of understanding, an unusual degree of patience and devotion, and a keen perception of natural facts. The Medium, or natural sensitive, is one who holds himself in negative relations to the interior worlds, and submits himself to the operation of influences proceeding from things and persons, as well as to that of discarnate intelligences. The medium cultivates an unusual degree of responsiveness to environment and to the emanations (atomic, magnetic or psychic) and suggestions of other persons. The phenomena developed by this process of mediumism include automatism (temporary loss of control over the motor nerves), as in the phenomena of involuntary speech and automatic writing; hypercesthesia, as in the function of clairvoyance, clairaudience, psychometry, etc.; trance, with its attendant phenomena of unconscious cerebration, obsession, and a variety of physical effects of a supernormal character. In its highest manifestation, following upon the crucifying of the flesh, the subjugation of the passions, and a process of intense religious aspiration, mediumism is frequently followed by spiritual revelation and spontaneous prophecy. But this sort cometh not but by fasting and prayer.

The various forms of divination to which recourse is had in so-called occult circles rest largely upon the exercise of a faculty which is compounded of occultism and mediumism. They are seen to employ the automatic faculty in conjunction with an empirical knowledge of certain occult methods of interpretation.

The following pages are intended to place the lay reader in possession of some of the principal methods of the occultists and mediums; and although nothing of a purely esoteric nature is divulged, it will nevertheless be found that everything necessary to an initial understanding and practice of the various occult arts is included in this work. It is within the author’s purpose to place so much information at the disposal of the student as will effectually debar him from any excuse of ignorance concerning the psychic powers latent in man and the verity of the occult sciences. it is within the power of everybody to be convinced, and to convince others, while he who perseveres to the point of perfection in the exercise of his faculty may justly be dignified by the name of Adept. The Magi of ancient times were astrologers, diviners and prophets all, and he who would aspire to their high degree must pursue their methods and live their life. They have committed to us the following maxims, which are still preserved in the schools—

KNOW - WILL - DARE - KEEP SILENT;

and to the rule of life they enjoin -

RIGHT THOUGHT - RIGHT FEELING

RIGHT SPEECH - RIGHT ACTION RIGHT LIVING.

SECTION 1 ASTROLOGY

THE astrologic art is held to be the key to all the occult sciences. Certainly it is the most ancient, and that which most readily lends itself to scientific demonstration.

Much that is contained in this and the following chapters is traditional knowledge but some portion of it is the result of modern discovery and experiment. Thus the nature and - significations of the signs of the zodiac and the planets, the aspects and some other parts of the groundwork of astrology, have come down to us from times immemorial; but the methods of computing the periods, the exact tunes of events, together with some methods of interpretation, are of modem or comparatively recent Origin. Of course, all that is known of Neptune and Uranus is the result of modern discovery.

The subject before us can be divided into three parts :-

The alphabet.

The reading.

Time measures.

I will deal in this chapter with

CHAPTER I

THE ALPHABET

This includes the symbols and names of the planets and the signs, their groupings and dominions. The PLANETS (including, for convenience of phrasing, the Sun and Moon) are nine in number. Stated in the order of their distances from the earth they are as follows :-

The Moon, which returns to the same place in the zodiac in about 27 days, and to its conjunction with the Sun in about 29 days. Every 19 years the New Moons fall in the same part of the zodiac. The Moon’s characteristic is change or mobility.

Venus, which returns to the same part of the zodiac about the same date in 8 years. It is at its nearest to the earth when in inferior conjunction with the Sun. Its characteristic is placidity or peace. It is called by the Greeks Aphrodite.

Mercury, when in inferior conjunction with the Sun, is next in distance from the earth. It returns to the same longitude on the same date in 79 years. Its characteristic is activity.

The Sun is the chronocrater of our system, and all time is measured by its apparent movements. It has an apparent motion round the earth in hours and 4 minutes, and an annual motion through the zodiac in 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 49 seconds. The earth is nearer the sun than it used. to be, the day is shorter, and the precession of the equinoxes is greater The equinoxes pass through each sign in about 2,160 years The vernal equinox is now m the constellation Pisces, and in about 700 years will be m Aquarius The characteristic of the Sun is vitality.

Mars returns to the same part of the zodiac about the same time at the end of 79 years Consequently it forms its conjunction with ~ in the same part of the zodiac at the end of that period. Its characteristic is energy.

Jupiter returns to the same longitude about the same ‘date every 83 years It is called the Greater

Fortune Its characteristic is expansion

Saturn has a period of 59 years, after which it comes to the same longitude about the same date. It is called the Greater Infortune. Its characteristic is privation.

Uranus has a synodic period of 84 years. Its characteristic is disruption.

Neptune has a period of about 165 years and its characteristic is chaos.

The periods of the planets according to the Chaldeans are -

  up to 14, then  to the age of 22,

  succeeds until 56, and is followed by       , who rules the life up to the age of 68, the last 30 years, up to the age of 98, being dominated by         Saturn.

These are the periods recited by Shakespeare in his famous passage in As You Like It,   (disruption), the paralytic senility of which condition is so aptly described by the Bard.

Planetary Colours.

Neptune. - Mauve, lilac, heliotrope (admixtures of pale blue and scarlet).

Uranus. - Grey, black and white mixed, in checks or stripes.

Saturn. - Dark brown, black.

Jupiter. - Violet, purple.

Mars. - Scarlet, crimson.

Sun. - Orange, gold.

Venus. - Pale blue, turquoise.

Mercury. - Indigo, dark blue.

Moon. - Opal, iridescent sheens, yellow, and in watery signs ( ) sea green.

,

,

,

,

Planetary Numbers.

The following numbers transmitted by John Heydon in the sixteenth century have been proved correct:-

  8,         3,         9,  6,  5;

(negative) 4, (positive) 1.

      2,            7.

Planetary Metals.

  gold.

The atomic weights of the ancient metals are not presumed to have been known to the ancient astrologers, yet we find they named the planets and ascribed their dominions in the mineral world in exact accordance with the facts of modern science. The atomic weights of the various pure metals known to them are contained in the following glyph :-

  towards the left. The result is -

  iron,      atomic weight 56;

  silver " 108;

  tin      "      118;

  gold       "      196;

  quicksilver       "      200;

  lead       "      207.

Read alternately in the reverse order we have

ruling Sunday,

"      Monday,

"      Tuesday,

"      Wednesday,

"      Thursday,

"      Friday,

"      Saturday.

If we read from point to point so as to make a heptagram or seven-pointed star, or a star of seven angles, we have the order of the planets according to the Chaldean system:

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

.

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

, 

.

Sympathies.

The following glyph (see page 9) exhibits at a glance the sympathies and antipathies of the planetsThus Saturn is opposed to the Sun and Moon, Jupiter to Mercury, and Venus to Mars. This is exhibited in detail by reference to the

Dominions

of the planets, which are set forth in the following schedule -

opposed to

  and

  governs  and opposed to

opposed to

  governing         and

The Dominions are sometimes called Houses from domus, a house, but as other divisions of the heavens are so called, I prefer to use the term dominions to describe the signs of the zodiac ruled over by the planets.

In a general sense, and having regard to the specific nature of each planet, Saturn is in sympathy with Mars, Mars with the Sun, Jupiter with the Moon and Venus; while Mercury is variable, taking its radical tincture from that planet to which it is in closest aspect at birth.

The following figure shows at a glance the signs owned or ruled by the planets and the luminaries :-

  , Aquarius; but these are modern empiricisms and for some time must be received with caution.

CHAPTER II

THE ASPECTS

THE ancients have handed down a tradition which informs us that the triangle is a symbol of the spirit and is efficacious for good, while the cross which is formed on the square is a symbol of matter and is of evil import.

In practical astrology we find this dictum to be true. Thus the aspect, or angular distance between two celestial bodies, or points of the zodiac, is the means by which we determine whether a planet favours our fortunes or the reverse.

  trine aspect of 120° is good, and produces harmonizing effects whenever and wherever it occurs.

  sextile aspect of 60° is half the trine, and is good in like manner but in less degree.

  semisextile of 30° is similarly propitious, but in a very subsidiary degree. It serves, however, to turn the scales when the influences are conflicting.

These, then, are the good aspects :-

120°      60°      30°

  when in good aspect to another planet.

The evil aspects are :-

  of 180°, which makes for disunion and inharmonious results.

  sesquiquadrate or square and a half aspect of l35° is powerful for evil.

  square or quadrature of 90°, which is only a degree less evil than the direct opposition.

AMO Section 1 Chapter 2

  semisquare of 45°, which is similarly, but in less degree, evil.

  is the interpreter of the gods, and brings to us the message of that sphere with which it is found in association at any time we may consult the heavens.

,

,

,

,

The astrological aspects are found to be those angles at which the superior metals crystallize. Water crystallizes at an angle of 60°. Again, the angles or complemental angles of any regular polygon which may be inscribed in a circle will be found to be comprehended by the astrological aspects. Thus our earliest progenitors are found to have been both metallurgists and geometers. The evil aspects are all included in this ancient glyph :-

and similarly the good aspects are included in the following symbol, known as the seal of Solomon :-

AMO Section 1 Chapter 2

The key was found engraved on the back of the Great Tortoise, discovered by Yaou, the Chinese patriarch and ruler, in the Yellow River, about 2,300 b.c. It forms the basis of interpretation to the oldest book in the world, known as the Yih King, or Book of Transformations. It is used by the Chinese for all purposes of divination, and is the basis of their astrological system.

Besides these there are many other points of interest vested in the astrological aspects, and as I shall have occasion to refer to them in the next chapter of this section, 1 will pass them for the moment.

CHAPTER III

THE SIGNS

THE signs of the zodiac are the symbols of those living forms which among the ancients stood for certain cosmic principles and evolutional processes. In the zodiacal scroll the gifted interpreter of symbols will find the history of the human race already depicted. The typical forms represent various stages of human evolution, as well individual as racial. But we are not now concerned with these esoteric matters, but rather with the exposition of astrological principles. Observe, then, that the zodiac is composed of asterisms which, in the year 25,400 B.C., corresponded with the solar signs bearing the same names. The signs are counted from the vernal equinox, or that point where the sun’s path crosses the earth’s equator. The line traversed by the sun in its annual path through the asterisms is called The Ecliptic.

  Scorpio,  Sagittarius,  Capricornus,  Aquarius,  Pisces. They have the following relationships and groupings :-

The Elemental Natures of the signs, with their human correspondences, are shown in the following tabular scheme:-

The majority of the planets being in the Fire signs, shows that the life is expressed chiefly in the inspirational, aspirational and intuitive faculties. In Air signs, the intellectual life will be dominant. In Water signs the passional, emotional and imaginative qualities are more pronounced; while if the majority of the planets are in Earth signs, the more material, matter-of-fact and sordid aspects of the nature absorb the vital powers. These groups are otherwise known as the igneous, gaseous, fluidic and mineral, analogous to the upward evolution of the material universe, which is counterbalanced by the downward involution of the corresponding immaterial principles.